Best yet to come for this year's deer season

This was more like it, perched in a tree stand Tuesday at dawn with deer coming up the slope. I would have no shot this time. The doe and two fawns were a little out of range and covered by a few trees and a limestone slump - a bedroom-sized chunk of rock that had broken away from the bluff and slid downhill, probably a thousand years ago.

But I was in the right place. Two earlier sits this month in different locations yielded only a distant deer snort. This summer, I had moved this stand a couple hundred yards to an uphill access where, last December, I had watched three deer trot away from shotgun season pressure. As the corn comes out a quarter mile away, a couple stands on that field edge will be accessible.

After three years, I am still learning where the funnels, food sources and bedding areas are on this Clayton County parcel of limestone, timber and cornfield. That's part of the challenge for me and, statewide, for 60,000 bow hunters since the Oct. 1 open.

In the early weeks, most hunters cover routes the deer take between feeding and bedding areas around dawn and dusk. About now, though, the stakes increase. Bucks start checking scrapes, to see who else is in the neighborhood. Pre-breeding activity climbs, even though does are not ready to be bred.

By the end of October, a good deer woods has heavy traffic. Frustrated bucks push does and disrupt their feeding and bedding schedules. By the second week of November and into the third week, most does come into heat.

There still are plenty of opportunities now. By noon Tuesday, more than 6,500 deer had been reported harvested statewide. Deer numbers are down statewide, into the range of mid-1990s populations, as stipulated a decade ago by lawmakers. However, the three month split season offered to bowhunters allows them more face time with the deer, presuming that face gets close enough.

Mine wasn't this time. However, I can make a couple adjustments. In the meantime, the weather (a bit above freezing when I walked in) and the trees (still some green, but near the peak of the fall foliage turn) told me I was in the right place this time.

And then the turkeys started. There had been a little tree talk up until then. Now, as the first bird bailed out of his roost just 50 yards away, he was followed by 10 more over the next five or six minutes. I could even pick out their dark hulks through the branches, just before they crashed down to earth to start their day.

It was a great way to start mine.

? STAY SAFE UP HIGH: As you climb into that tree stand this fall, make sure you stay safe. That includes the three points of contact guideline as you go up or down. Our hands and feet are the points. Make sure only one of them is off the ladder or steps at any one time. Or use a climbing apparatus to arrive or leave safely.

Iowa had two tree stand fatalities last year, and who knows how many not-so-serious falls or hasty jumps in the nick of time. Those aren't reported. And once in your stand, make sure you are strapped in. Safety officials recommend a full fall restraint harness attached so you do not drop more than 12 inches, if you do lose your footing. For me, that means securing the strap about 2 feet higher now.

Use a string or cable to tow the bow and other gear up or down after you are strapped in.

HARVEST A DEER? REPORT IT: It should not be a mystery. If you harvest a deer in Iowa, you need to report it to the DNR. Accurate harvest counts for deer are vital, as biologists pinpoint populations and identify hot spots where more need to be taken, or areas where deer numbers are low and hunting pressure needs to be relaxed. Hunters are Iowa's primary deer management tool. Reporting that kill, especially in controlled zone hunts or with county antlerless tags (targeting does), helps keep that science reliable.

The easiest method is by going to www.iowadnr.gov. Click on hunting, then deer hunting, then harvest reporting. You'll be done within a minute.

Oh, and wild turkeys harvested in spring or fall must be reported, too.

EHD UPDATE: As more hunters and landowners get out in the woods and fields, more suspected cases of deer dying from Epizootic Hemorrhaging Disease (EHD) are reported. Another 135 incidents of dead deer - often found near water sources - have been relayed to DNR deer biologist Tom Litchfield. That total is now 634 suspected cases.

There have been laboratory confirmations of cases from Linn, Henry, Davis and Warren counties. Only a handful of the sick or dead deer found can be tested. The bulk of the cases are from Davis, Van Buren and Lee counties in southern Iowa, up to Linn, Johnson and Cedar counties in Eastern Iowa.

KEEP EYES PEELED FOR DEER: Despite an annual increase of 4 billion miles in Iowans' driving load over the last 10 years, the number of deer killed on roads has dropped. In 2012, 554 deer were killed per billion miles driven by Iowans. That had been 570 in 2011 and as high as 803 in 2004.

As we approach the peak of the deer rut - and deer movement - a deer is more likely to dart across the road. By slowing down a few miles an hour and keeping aware of movement alongside the road you can minimize the risk. Deer movement is more prevalent at dawn and dusk, which is when more people traffic is out there, too.

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Best yet to come for this year's deer season

This was more like it, perched in a tree stand Tuesday at dawn with deer coming up the slope. I would have no shot this time.